proscribe
verb
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Proscribe vs. Prescribe
Proscribe and prescribe each have a Latin-derived prefix that means "before" attached to the verb "scribe" (from scribere, meaning "to write"). Yet the two words have very distinct, often nearly opposite meanings. Why? In a way, you could say it's the law. In the 15th and 16th centuries both words had legal implications. To proscribe was to publish the name of a person who had been condemned, outlawed, or banished. To prescribe meant "to lay down a rule," including legal rules or orders.
Examples of proscribe in a Sentence
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
The result was the Espionage Act of 1917—a law that, with a few revisions, still forms the main legal basis for proscribing the unauthorized disclosure of national security information in the United States.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 7 Dec. 2021
What emerges in 2025 is a chilling message to everyone about not transgressing proscribed gender roles.
—Chase Strangio, TIME, 21 Jan. 2025
While the order proscribes new drilling along most of both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the order does not affect active drilling permits and carves out the most important areas of offshore production such as the western Gulf of Mexico near Texas and Louisiana.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Proscribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proscribe. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
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Legal Definition
proscribe
transitive verb
Latin proscribere to publish, proscribe, from pro- before + scribere to write
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